AUSTIN, Texas — Starting Wednesday, Jan. 16, Capital Metro will be offering free rides to federal government employees for the duration of the government shutdown.
All federal workers will have to do to get their free ride is show their federal government employee ID to the bus operator or fare inspector.
The free rides go for all Capital Metro services, including MetroRail and MetroAccess.
“This is not about politics; it’s about being there for our community,” said Capital Metro President and CEO Randy Clarke. “Taking care of neighbors in need is the right thing to do. We hope that the free fares allow those who are serving our country to keep moving through this difficult time.”
According to the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, there are 13,000 federal government employees in the Austin area.
CapMetro has a history of supporting the community by creating special programs to help groups get free or discounted rides.
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The partial shutdown began Dec. 22, and according to the release by CapMetro, more than 35,000 Texans work for agencies that are without funding during the shutdown.